Ooops, it’s been a while! My other life seems to have taken over all my genealogy time for the last few months. That was, of course, until the 1911 census was (partially) released (http://www.1911census.co.uk/). Fortunately, most of my lot were from the Berkshire/Surrey/Middlesex borders, so I found quite a lot of relatives without too much trouble.

As with any new information, this census not only answered a few questions but also raised a few more! I found that Frederick Attwell not only had a brother Robert/Ernest (mentioned previously, who died before Fred was born) but also a sister, Florence, born 18 Dec 1910 in the Windsor Union Workhouse (again with no father’s name listed). Unfortunately, like Robert/Ernest, Florence also died young, shortly before her 2nd birthday.

I also found Elizabeth Smith (Attwell), my great-grandmother, living with her children in Park Avenue, Egham. Robert Ernest Smith (the only true Smith in the family I think) of course died in 1910 so no new clues on his parentage/place of birth. The children are all recorded as Smith and she has stated that she was married for 28 years which, in this case, I’m 99% sure is untrue as I do not believe they ever married BUT it does give me an idea of when they got together and it ties in nicely with my theory that my grandfather was the first child of this union, the two older children (Elizabeth & Alice) were from a different father(s) – Alice was the only one of Elizabeth’s children to marry as an Attwell. One of the children listed was my grandfather, recorded as Robert Smith, living at home, aged 27 and single. He married my grandmother 5 years later in Pooley Green Gospel Hall, which was literally just around the corner.

Of course, the big thing for a lot of people researching their families is that the 1911 census is the first that might actually feature people they knew and this is certainly true for me. I was unfortunate to only know one of my grandparents and that was my maternal grandmother, born Evelyn Dyson in 1904 in Derbyshire. I had to wait a little longer to see her on a census return as she fell into one of the counties that wasn’t released at the start, but she is now there, aged just 6, with her mother and siblings (another (sad) story to tell). This is where one of the new questions pops up. She has recorded that she had 3 living children (and they are all on the same return) and 2 that had died. This is news to me. I had no record of any other children in this family, so there is my next task!

Obviously, I found many other relatives too and that has just stirred up the genealogy wasps’ nest again, so I shall be buzzing around trying to solve the many new challenges over the next few months!